The 50th anniversary edition of the Columbus Arts Festival will kick off on Friday, June 3, at 11:30 a.m. in the Discovery District, bordering and including parts of the Columbus State campus.Read more

One hundred-fifty district superintendents, high school principals, counselors, college presidents, admissions representatives and curriculum directors attended the first annual Regional Summit on College Access and Student Attainment Tuesday, May 3Read more

“The front door to the American Dream is the community college,” said
OSU president Gordon Gee April 5 at a news conference held to announce
the Preferred Pathway agreement with Columbus State. Read more

Summer camp program for high school students funded by The Gap

Columbus State’s TRiO Educational Talent Search program will host 30 high school students for the Getting Ahead Professionally: Mentoring for Excellence in Employment (GAP MEE) summer day camp June 13 - 24.

The students will explore long-term career options, create their own career achievement plan, hone job readiness and employment skills for part-time work while succeeding as a full-time student, earn a “paycheck” for their participation, and much more! Last year’s program was such a success that The Gap, Inc., has generously increased their support to $25,000 for this summer’s program.

For more information about the GAP MEE program please contact Stephanie Albrecht in Diversity, Study Abroad, and TRiO at ext. 5402.

Student Employee of the Year Sarah Al-Issa accepts her award as Dr. Jan Rogers looks on. Fourteen students were honored at the awards ceremony held May 12 on campus.

Summer Quarter is quickly approaching, and Student Employment Services wants to remind you that our own students are a flexible and capable workforce looking for employment.

The student employment classification offers departments a low-cost and efficient means for meeting their part time staffing needs. Check out their website for more information, or call Clayton Gibson at extension 3622 to learn about hiring student employees. Some departments are able to hire Federal Work Study students, whose wages are 100% covered through Financial Aid.

If you are looking for examples of success, look no further than the 2011 Student Employee of the Year reception held May 12. Fourteen students were nominated by their supervisors for recognition. It was clear from reading the nomination letters that all of these students made a real and positive impact on the operations of their department. In the end, the 2011 Student Employee of the Year was Sarah Al-Issa who represented Columbus State through her Federal Work Study position with the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

Columbus State’s International Student Association (ISA) members worked with the International Voluntary Organization (IVO) on their annual clean up of the International Peace Garden at Franklin Park Conservatory Saturday, May 14. After their hard work, the students and their faculty advisors were rewarded with a delicious lunch provided by IVO. Working in the garden project are, from left, students Tristan Phommarat and Tijana Lucic, an IVO volunteer, Samantha Swope (ISA president), Lilia Bermudez (advisor), Michael Schumacher (advisor), and Charlie Gallucci (advisor).

Scott Nichols, Supervisor of Athletics, Recreation & Intramurals, has been voted OCCAC treasurer. The OCCAC is comprised of eight community colleges in Ohio and runs intercollegiate athletics for men and women on the state level. Nichols has also been voted to serve as Chairperson for the OCCAC Volleyball committee, due in part to a successful run as head coach of the Cougar women’s volleyball team, which included National Tournament appearances in five out of his eight years as head coach of the Lady Cougar program.

Students in a Traci Haynes’ PSY 261- Child Development web class had the unique opportunity to be online reading buddies Spring Quarter through a collaboration with the Hilliard City School District. The students read children's books along with their elementary school reading buddies and then blogged on www.kidblog.com each week. As the quarter drew to a close, the Columbus State students made bookmarks for their reading buddies and delivered them to the three participating elementary school classrooms on May 11.

During the classroom visits, the elementary school children welcomed their CSCC Reading Buddies with welcome signs, letters and drawings, and one class even designed their own bookmarks to exchange with the college students!

Columbus State students, from left in back row, Amber Owens, Alysia Harper, Adrienne Sharp, and Tia Boston meet their reading buddies from a Hilliard elementary school.

Dick Ansley, professor in the Landscape Design/Build program, holds a tree stake as students finish planting a tree near the Bookstore. The Buckeye tree was planted in memory of former faculty member Lou Foster, who passed away a few months ago. “Lou was a huge OSU Buckeye fan but had very strong connections to Columbus State through his former students, alumni, staff and coworkers. The tree represents hishard work and dedication to the green industry," said Ansley.

The Psychology Department recently recognized one of their outstanding adjunct faculty members with the Spring Quarter Adjunct Appreciation Award.

At the ceremony, it was noted: “Dr. Mary Lewis has been a talented and faithful member of the department since Spring Quarter 2004. One of only two adjunct faculty members in Psychology to have won the prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award, Mary is both a supremely talented educator as well as a helpful colleague. Those who have directly observed Mary teach have described her as possessing versatility, fostering engagement, and inspiring critical thinking. Mary is also very conscientious, often being the first to have web assignments graded and posted for PSY 240. Mary has further impressed colleagues through her dedication to her students and hard work in the classroom via the many online blogs she authors to supplement her teaching.”

The Open Enrollment period for Medical, Dental, Vision, Life benefits and Flexible Spending Accounts runs through May 31

For all full-time benefit-eligible staff and administrators not covered by a collective bargaining agreement:

Each year Columbus State offers full-time benefit-eligible employees the opportunity to enroll or make changes to their current elections for medical, dental, vision, voluntary life benefits, and/or the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) offered by Columbus State for the upcoming plan year July 1 through June 30.

The FSA contributions expire on June 30, 2011 and you must complete the appropriate paperwork if you wish to continue your contributions.

If you are NOT making changes to the medical, dental, vision, or life benefit, you do not need to complete any paperwork.

If you wish to enroll yourself or a dependent, or make a change to your enrollment status
now is the time to do so. Please note: If you are enrolling dependent(s) for any plan, additional dependent documentation is required for dependent eligibility verification.

Enrollment/change forms must be returned to Human Resources by 4:30 p.m. on May 31. All benefit information and necessary forms are located on the Columbus State website.

This is your only opportunity to enroll or make changes (unless you have a life event) to your medical, dental, vision, voluntary life or FSA plans for the plan year July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. Don't miss out!

The Columbus State Cancer Support Group is an opportunity for anyone impacted by cancer to come and share information that would be helpful to the group. The group will meet on Tuesday, May 24 at noon in the Public Safety training room in Delaware Hall. For additional information contact Nichole Bowman-Glover, wellness coordinator, nbowmang@cscc.edu or call ext. 3989.